
ANSWER: The word never fails. Joshua
21:45 ; 1 Kings 8:56.
The word abides in us. John 15:7; 1 John
2:14.
The word produces faith. Rom. 10:17.
Our Attitude
9.
What was one outstanding fea-
ture of the Thessalonian believers in
their relation to the word of God?
1 Thess. 2:13.
NOTE.—To them it was not the "word of
men," but the "word of God." They "re-
ceived" it as such, the living word of power,
and it effectually worked in their lives.
"If we would live a true Christian life, the
conscience must be quickened by constant
contact with the word of God. All the pre-
cious things which at infinite cost God has
provided for us will do us no good ; they can-
not strengthen us and produce spiritual
growth unless we appropriate them. We
must eat the word of God—make it a part
of
ourselves."—Testimonies, vol.
7, p. 195.
10.
What was it that characterized
Jeremiah in his relation to the word
of God? Jer. 15:16.
NoTE.—"The followers of Christ . .. must
receive and assimilate the word of God so
that it shall become the motive power of life
and action. . . . They must eat the flesh and
drink the blood of the Son of God, or there
is no life in
them."—Patriarchs and Proph-
ets,
page 278.
11.
What is one vital factor in our
relation to the word of truth? James
1:22; 1 John 2:17.
NorE.—It is important to have a "knowl-
edge" of the truth. 1 Tim. 2:4. It is vital that
we "believe the truth" (2 Thess. 2:13), it is
important that we "obey the truth" (1 Peter
1:22), and, more so, that we "love the truth"
(2 Thess. 2:10).
"No matter how zealous men may be in
their observance of religious ceremonies, the
Lord cannot accept them if they persist in
willful violation of one of His commands."
—Patriarchs and Prophets,
page 634.
12.
After we have received and
obeyed the word of God, what does
the Lord expect us to do? 2 Tim. 4:1,
2; Rev. 1:3.
NoTE.—"The Saviour's commission to the
disciples included all the believers. It in-
cludes all believers in Christ to the end of
time. . . . All who receive the life of Christ
are ordained to work for the salvation of
their fellow
men."—The Desire of Ages,
page
822.
"The doers of the word are those who are
ruled by it, who practically comply with its
requirements, who not only read, under-
stand, and believe it, but submit to its auth-
ority, regulate their tempers and lives by its
precepts. The term, too, is expressive of con-
tinuance, permanence. We must live and
move in this element, we must find our occu-
pation here the chief delight of our existence.
It is only such doing that constitutes a doer
of the word. 'And not hearers only.' This is
what the apostle is anxious to guard against.
Mark what it really is which he condemns.
It is not being hearers—very far from that.
It is the stopping short here, resting in it,
which he condemns. He finds no fault with
those who are hearers, it is with those who
are hearers simply and 'not doers.' He adds,
`Deceiving your own selves.' Whatever the
foundation on which they build, whatever
the process by which they reach the conclu-
sion in their own favor—all who think well
of themselves, who believe that they are
God's people, and on the way to heaven,
while they are hearers only and not doers—
all such must, and do, delude themselves.
They are helped to this result. The father of
lies tries to persuade them that they are all
right as to their spiritual character. He
labors to hide from us the truth, and to draw
us into the meshes of soul-ruining error."—
The Biblical Illustrator,
St. James, page 159.
Illustration:
A skeptic acquaintance of a Christian
minister of note wrote a letter offering to
lend him the infidel works of Paine and Vol-
taire. The minister replied, thanking him,
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